Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Has $825,000 Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 144.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,218 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,228 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,417 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,202 shares of the company's stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,285,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ XEL traded up $1.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.38. 7,152,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,620,693. The firm has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $69.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.